Written by former Senate education staffer and journalist Alexander Russo, This Week in Education covers education news, policymakers, and trends with a distinctly political edge. (For archives prior to January 2007, please click here. For posts after November 2007, please click here.) Comments on this blog are now closed.

By Alexander Russo July 17, 2007 at 9:08 AM

Those charter folks are so creative, so inventive, so damn entrepreneurial. Now, according to SmartMoney.com, they've got their own search engine: American Charter Schools to Receive Funding from New Search Engine. What will they think of next? Charter school credit cards, I'm guessing, or mileage programs. Special handshakes, too. Maybe their own version of YouTube? Or iPhone....

By Alexander Russo July 17, 2007 at 8:56 AM

As if there we needed any more reasons to get rid of the long summer break, US News reports that summertime is downright dangerous to children, spiking to more than 2.4 million ER visits (and 2100 deaths) each year and that only with increased diligence can injuries be avoided (12 Ways to Childproof Your Summer). Over at Slate.com, they debunk the notion that summer break was invented to follow the agricultural calendar. It was money, folks, that ended summer quarter -- and some strange notions about kids' development (Why do schoolchildren get a three-month summer vacation?)....

By Alexander Russo July 17, 2007 at 8:35 AM

No Child's authors work on a revision Boston Globe "Everything's up for review," said Miller , Democrat of California and chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. Limelight Has Eluded Fired D.C. Schools Chief Washington Post It's been a tough month for former D.C. school superintendent Clifford B. Janey since his abrupt dismissal by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty in a late-night telephone call. Via DA Daily. Nipping Bias in the Bud LA Times As soon as Violet Feldman laid eyes on her cousin's short haircut, she wanted one too. The 5-year-old begged her parents to trim her dark-brown ...

By Alexander Russo July 16, 2007 at 1:09 PM

Over at EdBizzBuzz, Marc Dean Millot digs up a how-to on making AYP (How to Make AYP). See? It's not so hard to understand. Actually pulling it off isn't so easy, though more folks are doing it than many imagined -- with and without tricks and gimmicks....

By Alexander Russo July 16, 2007 at 11:07 AM

Though it's starting off slowly, the week ahead could be busy: EdWeek says that the Miller education bill could come out (see below). AEI's got an event today: The Impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) . Participants: Derek Neal, University of Chicago; Katherine Haley, Office of Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI); Charles Murray, AEI; and Henry Olsen, AEI.. Time and Location: 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.; Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI. [email protected] for more information. New America has a thing tomorrow: "Child Well-Being in America and Abroad: How Do American Children Fare in Comparison ...